Is Gonzo Being phased out?

After watching the newest Muppet movie and reading about one of the latest Muppet tv appearances I'm starting to wonder are the slowly phasing Gonzo out? I would really hate this because he brings so much to the Muppets and I love Gonzo! Kermit Fozzie and Gonzo were great in GMC as a team, and Gonzo was wonderful in the Muppet show, sure I will say that he should have never had a leading role in MFS, but he really is one of my favorite Muppets, and I would hate for whatever reason for Gonzo to be absent.

After watching the newest Muppet movie and reading about one of the latest Muppet tv appearances I'm starting to wonder are the slowly phasing Gonzo out? I would really hate this because he brings so much to the Muppets and I love Gonzo! Kermit Fozzie and Gonzo were great in GMC as a team, and Gonzo was wonderful in the Muppet show, sure I will say that he should have never had a leading role in MFS, but he really is one of my favorite Muppets, and I would hate for whatever reason for Gonzo to be absent.

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I've noticed this too and I think it's a case of Dave Goelz getting older. He has reportedly had a few shoulder surgeries so long days on set can't be easy. Anyone who has had the privilege to see Mr. Goelz perform can attest to his passion for his craft. I doubt he's retiring any time soon. However, he's probably letting some of the other performers fill up more time. That's why we're getting more Scooter and Fozzie appearances and I couldn't be more pleased! The down side is that it means less Gonzo and Bunsen. Both are very popular characters who remain heavily featured in the merchandising.

I've noticed this too and I think it's a case of Dave Goelz getting older. He has reportedly had a few shoulder surgeries so long days on set can't be easy. Anyone who has had the privilege to see Mr. Goelz perform can attest to his passion for his craft. I doubt he's retiring any time soon. However, he's probably letting some of the other performers fill up more time. That's why we're getting more Scooter and Fozzie appearances and I couldn't be more pleased! The down side is that it means less Gonzo and Bunsen. Both are very popular characters who remain heavily featured in the merchandising.

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Dave is still as involved as ever, it just seems that the scripts don't call for him as much as they used to. Letters to Santa is still relatively recent and he was very prominent in that but the script for The Muppets didn't really call for too much Gonzo. While it would have been great for him to actually do something besides head bowling, the movie successfully was able to push him to the background without tampering with the quality of the film. Again, I think less appearances has to do more with Dave's availability. With special exceptions, he seems a bit less willing to come to the East Coast these days and I don't blame him. He's getting older, his personal life probably takes up a reasonable amount of time, he's got two teenaged kids, he needs to have balance and if that means neglecting Gonzo a little bit, I say give the guy some peace. I'm sure we'll see a bit more Gonzo in the next Muppet productions.

Dave is still as involved as ever, it just seems that the scripts don't call for him as much as they used to. Letters to Santa is still relatively recent and he was very prominent in that but the script for The Muppets didn't really call for too much Gonzo. While it would have been great for him to actually do something besides head bowling, the movie successfully was able to push him to the background without tampering with the quality of the film. Again, I think less appearances has to do more with Dave's availability. With special exceptions, he seems a bit less willing to come to the East Coast these days and I don't blame him. He's getting older, his personal life probably takes up a reasonable amount of time, he's got two teenaged kids, he needs to have balance and if that means neglecting Gonzo a little bit, I say give the guy some peace. I'm sure we'll see a bit more Gonzo in the next Muppet productions.

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I'm not sure why this is a reply to my post rather than the thread in general or why Dave Goelz' presumed reluctance to travel to the East Coast has much to do with Gonzo's reduced role in last year's film.

As I mentioned before, I don't believe he has any intention of retiring anytime soon. He did say something a while back about hoping newer characters and newer performers would get more screen time. I think it was in the interview about Letters to Santa.

The only reason Gonzo had a smaller role in this movie was all about movie run time. Gonzo was prominent in the deleted scenes (so I've heard). But the merchandise is still as Gonzo centric as ever. I'm sure next film he'll have a much larger role... but it really feels the last one focused more on Fozzie and Kermit's friendship and Kermit and Piggy's relationship.

I hate to say this, but lately Gonzo has seemed a bit stiff to me. When I watched The Muppets I wondered if Goelz was having arm but that wouldn't have explained how flat his reaction to seeing Kermit and Fozzie for the first time in years was, in light of the fact that he's been wearing spandex under his suit all this time. Not even an initial eye-widening before he went all businesslike. (Can the puppet still do this in both eyes or has it been limited to one only?)

I love Gonzo, but lately he's seemed a lot less vivid in terms of performance, which would be perfectly understandable if a) Goelz was dealing with physical difficulties, or b) Goelz had been instructed to throttle back on Gonzo so people wouldn't focus too much on The Blue Weirdo in favor of the more-marketable Kermit and Piggy.

Yeah, I think "phased out" is too strong a term. I wouldn't be surprised if he's being given a little less time than previously, because Goelz is no spring chicken any more. (get it? Chicken? Wocka wocka!) But it's not like he's leaving the troupe or anything.

I hate to say this, but lately Gonzo has seemed a bit stiff to me. When I watched The Muppets I wondered if Goelz was having arm but that wouldn't have explained how flat his reaction to seeing Kermit and Fozzie for the first time in years was, in light of the fact that he's been wearing spandex under his suit all this time. Not even an initial eye-widening before he went all businesslike. (Can the puppet still do this in both eyes or has it been limited to one only?)

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I think that's more the current puppet than Dave's ability. I really don't like this incarnation of Gonzo's face. The eyes are all wrong. I suppose they're going for more of a classic, early-TMS Gonzo look, but I much prefer the MCC/MTI-era look. His face was so expressive back then.

As for his (lack of) reaction to seeing his friends in The Muppets, I wonder if that wasn't more in the directing. I don't know, that was one part of the movie that I really didn't care for. I hope, however much Gonzo's in the next movie, that he acts like himself the whole time. And I hope, hope, HOPE that Gonzo and Rizzo get to have at least one more adventure together before Dave retires.

Since we don't know a lot about how or why the muppets broke up its hard to say how gonzo should react. Plus Fozzie and Piggy already did the whole wide eyed then distant reaction to Kermit. I liked gonzo being totally indifferent, keeping everything inside instead of showing all his emotion like he did in the past.

As for his lack of participation in the movie, it's all in the deleted scenes. There were two major deleted scenes. One had gonzo and Bunsen. The other was a major Bunsen and beaker scene.

If it's shoulder problems and physical limitations, then couldn't Goelz dub the voices, while someone else does the puppetry?

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I think it's probably a combination of factors and not just the shoulder one. Characters are frequently dubbed due to scenes that contain two or more characters from the same performance, but it can take the spontaneity out of a scene so the Muppets try to avoid that. It's largely why Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear seemed so stale in Muppets Tonight and Muppets From Space. Recasting the characters of Frank Oz helped save the Muppets IMHO.

I hate to say this, but lately Gonzo has seemed a bit stiff to me. When I watched The Muppets I wondered if Goelz was having arm but that wouldn't have explained how flat his reaction to seeing Kermit and Fozzie for the first time in years was, in light of the fact that he's been wearing spandex under his suit all this time. Not even an initial eye-widening before he went all businesslike. (Can the puppet still do this in both eyes or has it been limited to one only?)

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I take it that Gonzo, being a business professional, was strongly trying to hold in his innermost feelings until the time was right. It's one of those things that sort of worked, but didn't get the time to gestate.

But at least he wasn't sullen like he was in MFS and LTS.

Other than that, the new puppet looks VERY stiff. I really hope the next Gonzo they use is a little more flexible and expressive. Something that wasn't really there.

The new Gonzo isn't as still as you all say he is. He's actually more expressive. And they finally fixed his overlapping eyelid thing that bugged the heck out of me.

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I'm one of those who believe that they perfected the look of Gonzo, especially in LTS, and the latest incarnation almost looks like a fan-created puppet. He's always had overlapping lid issues of one sort or another, but the recent solution looks misshapen, less expressive and bland to me. I hope they refine him. ​